Big Dave's Gusset near Waterloo East station
It starts on the platform. Anticipating where the train will stop, the commuters take up possession with one foot daringly planted beyond the yellow line. The train pulls in, sparking an unseemly jostling, and a frenzied stabbing at the door-release button that they know from experience won’t open until the beeping begins.
Seconds count, and they’re not wasting a single one, leaping from the door to their usual seat in a blur of elbows and grey pinstripe. The seat routine can now begin: wrench down table with an ear-splitting screech; bang down coffee; produce the FT with rustling flourish; slam down arm rest like a challenge; spread legs to twice normal distance to mark out territory.
It wasn’t just the people that came to epitomise the daily commute, it was the journey itself. As you shuttle between home and work in this tube on wheels, you’re in a no-man’s-land. The sense of time and place is preserved only by the landmarks that punctuate the journey.
The meandering river Medway leaving Tonbridge, the heron on the lake at Hayesden, the racing spaniels outside the farmhouse, the llamas near Hildenborough, the lavender-grooved fields before the Sevenoaks tunnel. And after Sevenoaks, a series of ear-popping tunnels, followed by the Hither Green graveyard, the first tower block and ‘Big Dave’s Gusset’ painted on a wall near Waterloo.
These are the milestones that used to measure out my journey as a commuter. What are yours? Is there anything you look out for every day, or something – or someone – you dread seeing?
OK, I used to be really mean and gave funny names to people who would wait with me at the bus stop every morning. I used to do a checklist like “oh yeah, it must be 6.30am already, the ‘little head’ just came in”.
I know, it was cruel and mean and I regret it. On the other hand, I am almost sure they used to do the same with me
Comment by Pawel @ Self Employed Cafe — August 20, 2010 @ 8:44 am
Thanks for the comment Pawel! Don’t worry, I used to do exactly the same. I had the Slug Man and The Fish…
Comment by Hannah — August 20, 2010 @ 8:56 am